Is your organization making the most of creator marketing on LinkedIn?

If not, you could be overlooking a powerful way to make your brand stand out.

Our team recently joined an insightful session at the Fast Company Innovation Festival, all about the growing power of connecting with creators on LinkedIn. The session made it clear just how many marketers aren’t taking advantage of this opportunity.

The panel hosts asked the 80-person crowd who was using LinkedIn in some capacity for marketing to stand up, and almost everyone in the room rose to their feet. However, when asked to stay standing only if they were working with LinkedIn creators, just a few people remained upright.

While LinkedIn creator marketing may not have been fully recognized by digital marketers yet, there’s never been a better or more important time for brands to leverage LinkedIn and engage its creators. Read on to learn why.

LinkedIn grows in the social marketplace

LinkedIn is best known as a place for professionals to grow their networks, from fostering connections to sharing work-related (or sometimes personal) content.

However, its potential for brand marketers—particularly those in the B2B space—has skyrocketed even more in recent years. While there are several reasons why, an important one is the continued shift of users away from X, formerly known as Twitter. According to recent data, more and more users are continuing to leave X, particularly in the U.S. and the U.K. A sizable amount of that group is turning to LinkedIn instead.

This is a huge opportunity for B2B brands. 82% of B2B marketers report that LinkedIn drives the most results of any social platform. 40% say it’s the most effective platform for lead generation—which could be because 4 out of 5 of LinkedIn’s 900 million users drive business decisions, according to Sprout Social.

73% of consumers also say it’s the most trustworthy social media platform, per Business Insider, which is a valuable attribute in 2024.

Another enticing aspect of LinkedIn is its audience makeup—the bulk of its users are millennials, a target audience for many B2B brands. Millennials are also getting more involved with the platform; they’re sharing 40% more content on LinkedIn this year, according to Allyson Resh, Content Partner Lead at LinkedIn.

Ultimately, there’s a reason that 97% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing, and your organization should be, too.

Why working with creators matters

However, it’s no longer enough for marketers to share owned content alone on LinkedIn if they want to maximize engagement with current and potential customers.

Think of the content you most enjoy engaging with on LinkedIn. We’d venture a guess that there’s at least one throughline across the majority of that content—it’s created by people.

Though there are exceptions, most people like to interact with people on social media, not brands that spew bottom-of-funnel corporate messaging. Brands should continuously strive to act more like people and share human content that their audiences can relate to. This content could look like behind-the-scenes glimpses of company culture, Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions with internal thought leaders, or user-generated videos showing how customers interact with your products and services.

This can be a difficult goal for B2B marketers to achieve compared to their B2C counterparts, whose products and services may translate more easily to people-friendly content.

That’s where creator marketing comes in. During the session our team attended, panelist AJ Eckstein, the founder of Creator Match, said it best: Creators can help marketers reach an ideal middle ground between B2C and B2B, which he called B2P (“Business to People”), by humanizing brands and providing a trustworthy third-party voice.

In fact, 69% of consumers trust influencers, family, and friends more than information coming from a brand, per Matter. 41% of social media users between ages 18-29 have purchased an item after seeing a creator post about it online, while 33% of users aged 30-49 said the same, according to the Pew Research Center.

And the best news of all? We’re still in the early days of LinkedIn creator engagement, so it’s a great time for brands to get in on the ground floor.

The supply of LinkedIn creators is high, and there are countless creators who have strong audience networks to leverage. Yet, the demand is incredibly low since few brands are seeking LinkedIn creator partnerships.

During the panel, AJ shared a powerful analogy: partnering with LinkedIn creators now is like collaborating with the biggest YouTube creators (think Mr. Beast) a decade ago but at a fraction of today’s costs.

Brands need to seize the moment and embrace LinkedIn creator marketing to connect authentically with their audiences. With so many LinkedIn creators on the platform, now is the perfect time for companies to establish these meaningful connections.

What to know before working with your first LinkedIn creator

Ready to enter the world of LinkedIn creator marketing? Here’s what to know first.

• What to look for: When you’re evaluating creators to work with, search for those who’ve built authentic community relationships and actively engage with their networks, rather than chasing trends. Strong audience relationships equal stronger engagement for the brands that creators partner with.
• Establishing the partnership: Education is crucial to making creator-brand collaborations successful from the start. Assume the creators you’re working with know nothing about your brand, and make your initial brief comprehensive. Share your overall marketing and business objectives with them so they understand where their content fits into the bigger picture.
• Setting initial goals: It’s a common misconception among marketers that creators’ content is only useful for driving awareness, not engagement or conversion. Creators can also be incredibly effective at supporting mid and lower-funnel goals if that’s what your marketing strategy is focused on. Make sure to give creators goals reflective of your actual marketing objectives, even if they’re lower funnel, to maximize the partnership’s success.
• Evaluating cost: A common metric used in creator marketing is CPM (cost per thousand impressions), which measures how much a brand pays for every 1,000 views of the creator’s content. Know that CPM will likely be higher for LinkedIn creators because their audiences are often more niche and relevant to B2B marketers, offering greater value for reaching decision-makers and professionals compared to other platforms.
• Consider thought leader ads: Thought leader ads are a new LinkedIn capability that enables brands to sponsor their thought leaders’ content, including content made by creators. While adding paid social into the mix isn’t 100% necessary for a successful creator marketing strategy, these ads are becoming more highly prioritized in LinkedIn’s algorithm. Thus, they could be an effective long-term tactic for brands as they become more comfortable with creator partnerships.

Embracing creator partnerships on LinkedIn is a highly effective way to strengthen your brand’s audience connections. By prioritizing genuine relationships and humanizing your messaging, your brand can drive engagement, cultivate trust with customers, and make a lasting impact.

What more could you dream of as a marketer?

Article originally published on LinkedIn.

FAQ

What are the common challenges brands face when starting LinkedIn creator partnerships, and how can they overcome them?Brands often struggle with finding the right creators, educating them about brand goals, and setting appropriate expectations. To overcome these challenges, focus on creators with strong audience engagement, provide a clear and detailed brief, and align objectives to your marketing strategy.

What are the key mistakes to avoid when working with LinkedIn creators for B2B marketing?

Avoid prioritizing creators solely based on follower count instead of audience quality, failing to set clear goals, or treating creator content as purely top-of-funnel. Instead, collaborate with creators who align with your brand values and establish metrics that reflect all stages of the funnel.

How can brands measure the success of their LinkedIn creator marketing campaigns?

Success can be measured by engagement metrics like likes, comments, and shares, as well as conversions such as leads or sales driven by the creator’s content. Consider using CPM (cost per thousand impressions) or other relevant KPIs tied to your specific marketing goals.